Portal:Current events/2015 May 2
< Portal:Current events
May 2, 2015 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2015 West African offensive: The Nigerian Armed Forces announce they rescued another 234 women and girls from Boko Haram control in the Sambisa Forest on April 30. (AP)
- Two policemen and a civilian are killed and three others injured after a grenade attack in Burundi's capital Bujumbura. The attack takes place a day after a similar incident injured three officers, and comes in the midst of intensifying protests against current president Pierre Nkurunziza. (Al Jazeera)
- Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013)
- Two explosions in Baghdad kill at least 13 people and injure dozens. (Al Jazeera)
Arts and culture
- The Republic of Congo bans full face-veils in an apparent attempt to prevent religious extremist attacks. (The Independent)
- Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, returns home to cheering crowds after giving birth to her and the Duke's second child, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, fourth in line to the throne behind her older brother, Prince George of Cambridge, at St Mary's Hospital, London. Many countries send congratulations. (BBC) (Daily Mail)
Disasters and accidents
- Australian east coast low
- Fifteen people have had to be rescued from floodwaters as the town of Bellingen is likely to be cut off. (Weatherzone)
- The death toll from the storms has risen to six with five people dead in Queensland and a six year old boy dying after being pulled from rough seas in the New South Wales town of Ballina. (9 News)
- April 2015 Nepal earthquake: The death toll from last month's earthquake rises to 7,040 people and a total of 14,025 injured with thousands missing. Authorities in Nepal have given up hope of finding more survivors in the rubble. (Xinhua) (BBC) (CNN)
- More than 2400 migrants have been rescued after boats they were travelling on were rescued off the Libyan coast. (Al Jazeera)
Health
- New research has suggested lung cancer patients could benefit from the use of statin drugs. Dr. Chris Cardwell, Ph.D., and researchers at Queens University Belfast in Northern Ireland found lung cancer patients who used statins within a year of diagnosis had a reduced risk of death from the disease, the American Association for Cancer Research reported. To make their finding, the research team looked at data on about 14,000 patients who were newly diagnosed with lung cancer between the years of 1998 and 2009 and were a part of the English cancer registry. (HNGN) (AACR)
Law and crime
- Thai police dig up a campsite in southern Thailand used by human traffickers with 30 grave sites. (AP via Daily Mail)
- Authorities in the Maldives arrest three opposition leaders and nearly 200 citizens following violent protests yesterday calling for the resignation of President Yameen Abdul Gayoom. (The Guardian)
- In Queens Village, a part of the New York City borough of Queens, 25-year-old New York Police Department (NYPD) officer Brian Moore is shot in the head through the cheek while on patrol with his partner, Erik Jansen, who was uninjured, according to NYPD Police Commissioner William Bratton. The officer was placed in an induced coma at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, but his condition eventually deteriorated, and he died on Monday, May 4, 2015, after being taken off of life support. Demetrius Blackwell, 35, is charged with first-degree murder in the case. (New York Times)
Sport
- Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao: In boxing, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. of the United States defeats Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines for the united welterweight championship at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in the U.S. state of Nevada. Mayweather wins a unanimous points decision. (Daily Telegraph) (Daily Mail)
- In horse racing, the 141st running of the Kentucky Derby occurs at the Churchill Downs racecourse in the American city of Louisville, Kentucky with American Pharoah ridden by Victor Espinoza and trained by Bob Baffert winning in front of a record crowd. (The Guardian) (Los Angeles Times) (AP)
- In rugby union, Toulon defeat Clermont 24–18 in an all-French European Rugby Champions Cup final at Twickenham in London. Toulon becomes the first side ever to win three consecutive European club championships. (ESPN (UK))
- In football, Celtic wins the 2014–15 Scottish Premiership with three games to go. (AFP via ABC News Australia)
- In auto racing, a crewman from Aric Almirola's team is airlifted to a hospital during the Winn-Dixie 300 of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, after Brendan Gaughan's vehicle crashed into the pit wall and struck tires and a sign, which then struck the crew member. (ESPN)